The Bank Failure Accountability Act requires large financial institutions with over $1 billion in assets to defer at least 50 percent of compensation for senior employees when their pay exceeds seven times the median employee's salary at the institution. These deferred funds must be held in a separate account and used first to pay any civil or criminal fines levied against the institution, or in the case of bank failures, to reimburse depositors before drawing on federal insurance funds. The length of time compensation is deferred varies by institution size, ranging from 2 to 8 years, and any deferred compensation that cannot be repaid due to insufficient funds in the deferment account is permanently canceled. The bill applies to banks, credit unions, investment firms, broker-dealers, and mortgage companies, with enforcement and rule-making authority delegated to federal banking regulators and the Securities and Exchange Commission.